In 1897, Lund stood near the northern tip of Malaspina Strait as one of the recognized coastal settlements, and officials also acknowledged Froek as another. A report from the Department of Agriculture of British Columbia for the years 1895-1896 included a mention from Mr. Nils Frolander of Froek, Point Grief. He talked about Calf Disease and shared his successful treatment methods, expressing a desire to share his knowledge with the public.

With all these new settlements appearing on the coast, people were still looking for their riches on Texada Island.

On February 9, 1897, there was a significant surge in the opening of mines on Texada Island. At this time, people were more interested in purchasing land than applying for mining claims. One individual who sought to settle in this bustling area was Mr. William Lindsay Challoner, who aimed to establish himself near several active mines in District Lot 14, in Van Anda.

One such active mine, the Texada Kirk Lake Gold Mine, applied under the Companies Act of 1890 to own and operate the mine on Texada Island. Company owners, Ward DeBeck, Alexander Grant, and John MacQuillan, were looking to purchase the Victoria, Climax, and Texada mining claims.

Companies continued to swallow Texada Island mineral rights. The Texada Silver King Gold Mining Company, incorporated on February 17, 1897, was competing to purchase the Silver King mineral claim, owned by A.R. Johnstone and Chas. E. Clark and D.R. Harris.

On February 11, 1897, news from Nanaimo reported that the Powell Lake Mining Company, which had been core sampling a 100-foot ledge, received confirmation of a successful outcome. The company aimed to strengthen its financial position at Powell Lake. It issued tenders to the Cameron Lake Gold and Silver Mining Company for the construction of a tunnel extending 150 feet into the hillside on their property.

On February 25, 1897, Mr. William Pugsley and J.C. Robertson applied for 160 acres of land in Davis Bay that ran right to the beach. On the other side of Texada Island, a new City was being proposed, Texada City. Mr. A. Allayne Jones planned to create a townsite from Lots 1 to 14, and the lots were under Crown Grants. He had contracted to build a fine hotel with 26 rooms, and those who bought into Texada City could get it by a draw.

Later in the year, the Texada Hotel was built in Van Anda. With 17 rooms and all the modern conveniences, it was advertised for lease in the Daily Colonist on October 16, 1897, by Lee and Fraser. At that time, the SS Comox was offering sailings to Texada, Froek, and Lund as part of the Union Steamship Company.

Sad news arrived on the coast: the Daily Colonist reported that the “Coquitlam” sank at Grief Point on Malaspina Strait. The passengers and Crew all escaped on April 10, 1897; however, the steam vessel was a total wreck with a freight and vessel loss of $40,000. Captains and mariners had no idea how the vessel could have hit the rocky shores, but they suspected either rough seas or high winds.

Powell Lake was a hot topic, making waves in newspapers across the country! Its captivating stories and stunning beauty captured the attention of readers from far and wide. An article posted in the Daily Chronicle on May 28, 1897, mentions a Mr. John. B. Denny, Captain E.P. Miner, and Noble Wallingford came to the lake area to elevations of 5,000 to 8,000 feet, looking for ledges of ore.

The Province of BC Department of Lands and Works in Victoria was rushing to make land available for workers coming to the island to find their own land. In response to emerging opportunities in the region, the province conducted extensive surveys to explore the potential riches beneath its surface. As a result of these assessments, numerous mining claims were officially documented and published in the BC Gazette on August 19, 1897, marking a pivotal moment in the area’s mining history.

These included Lot 91 (Raven), Lot 92 (Chief), Lot 93 (Joan), Lot 94 (Samson), Lot 95 (Peacock), Lot 96 (Iron Mask), Lot 97 (Raven Fraction), and Lot 98 (Woodpecker). W.S. Gore, the Deputy Commissioner of Lands and Works, personally approved every one of these new mining permits, and his signature effectively opened the district to a fresh wave of prospecting and development. By issuing them himself, Gore signalled the government’s willingness to accelerate resource extraction and to legitimize the growing commercial interest along the coast.

Stock trading in Texada and the Powell Lake area was so common in 1897 that there were daily advertisements in all the newspapers. The area had become so popular, and so many people were travelling to the area that in 1897 the Union Steamship Company now had destination stops in Froeck, Texada Island, and the Lund area on the S. Capilano and the SS Coquitlam, and advertised this in the most popular of places, The Mining Record.

On August 23, 1897, Mr. Edgar Dewdwey granted Mr. Henry Michel district lot 1423, which encompassed Grief Point and 150 acres of prime waterfront land. At this time, the Moodyville Sawmill was still operating under its timber license in the area, and as more settlements arrived, the sawmill moved further south.

Later in the same month, on August 31, 1897, Mr. Edward Dewdney was granted the crown grant for Lot 54 for the Texada Island Kirk Lake Gold Mine. Advertisements in the Provincial newspapers were selling claims for the Victoria-Texada Mining Company at 25 cents per share by Beaumont Boggs and Company, who were brokers.

In 1897, as many prospectors and loggers roamed the area, accidents were bound to happen. Men died in the mines, trees fell on them, and boats sank. One such tragic incident involved a 45-year-old prospector from Nova Scotia named Buz McDonald.

He had come over from Texada to do some fishing. However, when he entered the river, its flow was too swift. He was quickly carried downstream toward the falls. In an attempt to save himself, he sprang overboard, but both he and his boat went over the falls.

While some fragments of his boat were discovered below the falls in the riverbed during the search, his body was never found, and to this day is still in the riverbed, reminding others of the dangers of the unknown river and the consequences that could happen.

As 1897 drew to a close, steamships began sailing into newly opened ports, and settlers established fresh mines, homesteads, and townsites on Texada Island, around Powell Lake, and along the Malaspina Strait. On December 23, 1897, Mr. William Simpson moved onto his District Lot 1631 in Scow Bay, just east of Sturt Bay, marking another step in the region’s rapid coastal expansion.

A newspaper article reports that The Pacific Coast Power Company is applying for permission under the Water Clauses Consolidation Act to build a dam across Powell River. This construction would enable them to raise the water level in Powell Lake.

Interestingly, the license alternates between referring to the river as Powell River and Teeshquot Creek. Their documentation dates back to 1897, making it one of the earliest significant industrial initiatives in the area. Although it was only a mention in a newspaper, the Province of BC could only wait for the application to arrive at its desks.

The Waterfront District lots, which are now associated with known colonial place names, were being applied for just beyond Grief Point in an area now referred to as Myrtle Rocks. Mr. Alfred Gibbon Deighton and George Henry Deighton received their Crown Grant for DL 1619; this grant was located in a slightly sheltered bay, where both Deightons envisioned significant development. With a creek nearby and a protected area, they settled and built their homes.

By the end of 1897, the northern Strait of Georgia had transformed into one of the most active frontiers on the British Columbia coast. New settlements were taking shape, Crown Grants were being issued at a rapid pace, and mining companies, both large and small, were staking claims across Texada Island and the Powell Lake region. Steamships expanded their routes to serve the growing population, while surveyors, prospectors, and entrepreneurs pushed deeper into the landscape in search of opportunity.

Even amid shipwrecks, accidents, and the hardships of frontier life, the momentum of development never slowed. The year closed with new townsites surveyed, new industries emerging, and a coastline that had shifted from scattered homesteads to a bustling corridor of commercial ambition, setting the stage for the explosive growth that would follow in the decades ahead.

This one application for DL 1619 by both of the Deighton families was a defining moment that marked the changing of the guard on the coast of Malaspina Strait.